Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra maintained for weeks that forward Chris Bosh was out indefinitely with a lower abdominal strain.

Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett battles for rebounding position against Miami Heat's Chris Bosh during Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.

By:Jeff ZillgittUSA Today, Published on Wed Jun 06 2012

MIAMI—Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra maintained for weeks that forward Chris Bosh was out indefinitely with a lower abdominal strain.

But Bosh had a timetable. When doctors told him May 14, the day after he sustained the injury against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, that a return in three weeks was a best-case scenario, Bosh made that his target.

“Three weeks ago, I was thinking weeks,” Bosh said Tuesday. “That was my number. No matter what anybody told me, I was thinking three weeks.”

Twenty-three days after the injury, Bosh returned in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics.

He provided an emotional and physical lift. His teammates were glad to have him back in uniform, and he had nine points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes, all in the first half.

It was not enough to push the Heat past the surprising Celtics, who against the odds have inched closer to another NBA Finals appearance.

“We know what we have to do,” Bosh said. “It’s pretty simple. There’s no reason to dwell on it (and) think about it a lot. We have to go to Boston and win.”

Simple to say, complex to execute against the extremely confident Celtics. Since the 2007-08 season, when the Celtics last won an NBA title, the Heat are 1-15 in regular-season and playoff games at the Garden. The lone one came in Game 4 of last season’s conference semifinals.

It has been a wildly emotional year for Bosh. His grandmother died in late February, his wife Adrienne gave birth to their son, Jackson, on May 3 while the Heat were in the middle of their first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks.

Then, Bosh went down with his injury. He welcomed the return where a game provides solace.

“It’s been some year for me, but basketball is kind of my sanctuary,” Bosh said. “It’s something that I can use to get away from everything, and I enjoy playing the game. So to be back out there, just to put my uniform on in the warm-ups and to be involved in the game in some kind of way physically, it was good for me. It’s good just to be able to do what I love. I was happy just to do that.”

“With everything going on, life happens. So you just have to move forward and do as best as possible.”

Bosh and his wife released a statement just minutes before tip-off Tuesday: “Last evening, a massage therapist that we have used for some time, arrived at our home to provide massage therapy. Shortly after she arrived, she fainted and lost consciousness. We called 911 and emergency personnel arrived at our home shortly thereafter. They took her to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she passed away. Our hearts go out to her family. We are very sorry for their loss.”

After Tuesday morning’s shootaround at American Airlines Arena, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Bosh was a game-time decision. All signs pointed to Bosh’s return, but Spoelstra wanted to evaluate him during his pregame warmup, which was done in the Heat’s practice gym, away from curious eyes.

Bosh began increasing his rehabilitation workouts, and he began participating last week in some on-court basketball activities. In Boston, Spoelstra tried to downplay the significance of those activities, but it was clear Bosh had progressed and even Spoelstra, who doesn’t like to give out much info, had encouraging works about Bosh’s improvement in the past 10 days.

The timetable for a mild to moderate strain is 3-6 weeks, and Bosh hit the early side.

“Just working hard as I can,” Bosh said of his climb back to action. “Just testing it out every day, working on trying to get my conditioning back. Getting as many shots up as I can and doing the necessary treatment like I’ve been doing the past three weeks.”

Spoelstra told Bosh to check in midway through the first quarter, and when he walked toward the scorer’s table, he received a fine ovation from fans.

“I did hear the fans,” Bosh said. “Just their love and support, it definitely picked me up and made it a lot easier to go out there and do what I do. It makes you feel special the way that they receive me and everything.”

With 2:19 left in the first quarter, Bosh got the ball in the low post and banked in a shot, and completed a three-point play 62 seconds later. After making the layup, he pumped both fists and screamed.

But Bosh did not play in the second half. Spoelstra didn’t think it was fair to put him in a tight game down the stretch, since he hadn’t played so long.

“I thought he gave us good minutes,” Spoelstra said. “That’s something we can build on. He felt good physically afterwards. That’s a good sign. I didn’t see a great deal of rust. His energy, everything was good. He might be able to play a handful more minutes. We’ll have to see how the next 48 hours go. I was encouraged, no doubt about it.”

Bosh was fine with Spoelstra’s decision.

“I was ready,” Bosh said. “If he felt it wasn’t fair, then that’s great. We still had enough to win the game no matter what happened. Hopefully next time in Game 6 when it comes to crunch time, I’ll be out there with my guys.”

The Heat will need more of Bosh if they want to extend the series and play Game 7 at home.

Miami is a better team with Bosh, despite five consecutive wins against Indiana and Boston in the playoffs.

The numbers, traditional and modern, are noteworthy for Miami with and without Bosh. They were 4-5 without him in the regular season and 5-4 without him the playoffs. They were 42-15 with him during the regular season.

With Bosh on the court, the Heat outscored opponents by 9.3 points per 48 minutes, shot a higher percentage and had more assists. Without Bosh, the Heat outscored opponents by 0.3 points per 48 minutes.

“We’re in the biggest challenge our professional careers,” Bosh said. “We just have to overcome it, and it’s going to be very, very difficult. But that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

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